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OTHER GERMAN STATES.

The systems of training teachers in the other German states differ very little from that in Prussia, where the teachers' seminaries originated. The number of schools, teachers, and pupils in each of the several states reported for 1877 is given below.

Table showing the condition of teachers' seminaries in different German countries in 1877.

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I. SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS.

A person who aspires to a teachership in a secondary school is required to go through a nine years' preparatory course and an academic. triennium before he is admitted to the professional examination, without which no one is allowed to teach. As the secondary school is not only one of the most important factors in the training of the teacher, but is also his future field of labor, a brief description of this institution will greatly aid in forming a correct idea of the German training system.

DEFINITIONS.

Secondary schools in Germany are for boys from about 9 to 18 years of age, and are commonly styled "higher institutions of learning" (Höhere Lehranstalten). They are not a continuation of the primary or elementary schools, but exist independently of them. They are divided into "Gymnasien" and "Progymnasien," "Realschulen" of the first and second order, and "Höhere Bürgerschulen." Their common object is to give the foundation of a general scientific and literary culture, and to develop the moral power of the student. The Gymnasium is at the head of all the secondary schools, and leads directly to the university, while the Realschule leads to the higher technical schools. Both the Gym1 German educators are making great efforts to obtain for graduates of the Realschule the same privileges that those of the Gymnasium enjoy, and some universities have already expressed their willingness to admit the graduates of both institutions to the academic course.

nasium and the Realschule of the first order have a nine years' course; but the Progymnnasium, the Realschule of the second order, and the Höhere Bürgerschule have only a six or seven years' course, and their graduates are not entitled to matriculation in a university.

CLASSIFICATION.

The general division and management of the Gymnasium and the Realschule are alike. Their courses of study extend over nine years. A complete Gymnasium or Realschule has at least six grades. The three lower grades, styled Sexta, Quinta, and Quarta, have a course of one year each; and each of the higher grades, styled Tertia, Secunda, and Prima, is subdivided into two divisions, with a course of one year each The different grades and subdivisions are as follows:

Prima A, (highest grade,) Prima B, Secunda A, Secunda B, Tertia A, Tertia B, Quarta, Quinta, Sexta, (lowest grade.)

The largest number of pupils in one class is fifty in the three lower grades, and, as a rule, thirty in the higher. Each class has one chief teacher, called the "ordinarius" of that class, who gives most of the lessons in it and who is responsible for its discipline.

Each teacher is generally engaged in school from twenty to twentyfive hours, and the director from fourteen to sixteen hours a week.

The Gymnasien are intended for those who desire to study especially the ancient languages and mathematics, and whose aim is to prepare for higher situations in the service of the state or the church. The students pass from the Gymnasium to the university to finish their studies in the different courses they may select.

The Realschulen are intended for those who desire to study the natural sciences, mathematics, and modern languages. The pupils are to become the managers of manufactories, civil engineers, architects, &c. They therefore do not pass to the university, but finish their education in the schools of architecture, engineering, manufactures, commerce, or other higher technical institutions.

The secondary schools are under the special care and control of the provincial school boards (Provinzial Schul-Collegien), composed of the presidents of the provinces and several experienced educators; and there is also a central school board at the capital of each state.

ADMISSION OF PUPILS.

Every candidate for admission to a secondary school must undergo an examination which decides in what class he is to be placed. For entering Sexta (the lowest grade) the pupil must be at least nine years of age, be able to read German, know the parts of speech, write legibly, be able to write from dictation without making bad orthographical mis takes, be well versed in the four fundamental rules of arithmetic, and be thoroughly conversant with the history of the Bible. Higher qualifications are required for entering the higher classes.

If, after a month's time, it becomes evident that a pupil is not yet fit for the class to which he has been assigned, or that he is further advanced than was thought, he may be either put back one class or advanced a step higher.

Quarterly reports of the conduct and diligence of the pupils are sent to the parents or guardians, who examine, sign, and return them to the school. The teachers are thus sure that the parents are well informed in regard to the standing of their children. The quarterly certificates also induce many parents to confer with the director or teachers of the school concerning the conduct, &c., of the pupils.

STUDIES.

In Latin, grammar is taught and applied to the reading of the classics and to written exercises. The following authors are read: Cæsar; Ovid; Livy; Sallust; some of Cicero's orations, epistles, and philosophical writings; Virgil's Eneid; Horace's odes, satires, and epistles; Tacitus's Germania; Juvenal; Terence; Plautus; and Roman literature. In Greek, grammar is completed and the following authors are read and translated: Xenophon, Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Sophocles, and Greek literature.

Hebrew is obligatory only for those who intend to study theology; it comprises grammar, etymology, and reading.

In German, grammar, etymology, prosody, and literature are taught, and exercises in German composition are continued through all the classes.

In French, the grammar is gone through. German pieces are translated into French, and French authors are read and translated into German and Latin. French composition and letter writing are likewise practised.

Instruction in mathematics comprises the whole of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, planimetry, stereometry, and trigonometry.

General history is taught, as well as the history of the state in which the school is situated, and of Germany, with special regard to social and literary development.

Geographical instruction includes the whole of physical, political, and mathematical geography, with map drawing in all the classes, especially rapid sketches on the blackboard and on slates.

Natural history comprises the general introduction and the elements of mineralogy, botany, and zoology.

In physics, the pupils pursue a very exhaustive course of mechanics, electricity, magnetism, light, and heat.

Drawing-free hand, geometrical, and ornamental-is taught in all the classes.

Gymnastics and singing are obligatory throughout the course.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.

As to the methods of teaching there is great variety in the different schools, each teacher being allowed to pursue his own plan. The translations from Latin or Greek into German, and vice versa, the grammatical exercises, Latin composition, and essays, the practice in versification, &c., are varied in amount in the different classes, according to the view s of the teacher.

The following are some of the themes for essays written by students of secondary schools in 1876-'77:

THEMES IN LATIN.

1. De virtutibus Romanorum ab Horatio laudatis.

2. Parum profici armis si incuriæ sequantur.

3. Ad provincias in officio continendas Romanorum literas artesque non minus quam arma virosque valuisse.

4. a. De Britannia in provinciæ formam redacta. b. Proprium est humani ingenii odisse quem læseris.

5. Bonos mores plus valere quam bonas leges.

6. a. Quæratur, utrum in Germanis an in Britannis virtutis indoles antiquis temporibus major fuerit. b. De Germanorum et Romanorum servis.

7. a. Homini vitam ad certam rationis normam esse dirigendam. b. In libertate defendenda Catoni prudentiam, Ciceroni constantiam defuisse.

8. Nihil gratiæ causa faciendum esse.

9. a. Multis parasse divitias non finis miseriarum fuit, sed mutatio. b. Omnis dies, omnis hora, quam nihil simus, ostendit et aliquo argumento recenti admonet fragilitatis oblitos, tum æterna meditatos respicere cogit ad mortem. c. Prosunt inter se boni.

10. Græcorum philosophia Romam translata omnia literarum genera ad artem redacta

esse.

11. a. Epaminondas haud scio an summus vir universæ Græciæ fuerit. b. Marcus Tullius Cicero civis optimus.

12. a. Laudes Q. Fabii Maximi Cunctatoris.

b. De dicto Horatiano (Lib. III, Carm. 4):

Vos Cæsarem altum, militia simul

Fessas cohortes addidit oppidis,

Finire quærentem labores

Pierio recreatis antro.

Vos lene consilium et datis et dato

Gaudetis almæ.

13. a. Cato in senatu docet Karthaginem esse delendam. b. Caius Marius rectene conservator republicæ appeletur.

14. a. Triginta viri suum ipsi imperium everterunt. b. Explicetur, cur et quo jure Athenienses Socratem capitis damnaverint.

15. Quibus rebus Achillis ira excitata sit.

16. a. Mithradates rex populi Romani hostis acerrimus. b. App. Claudius Cæcus cum Pyrrho, Epirotarum rege, nisi Italia excedat, pacem faciendam esse negat, (oratio.) c. Quibus potissimum virtutibus excellens fuerit Cicero.

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4. Diète de Worms.

5. Napoléon en Égypte.

6. Guerre pour la succession d'Autriche.

7. Guerre du Nord.

8. Première année de la guerre de sept ans.

9. Guerre pour l'indépendance des Etats-Unis de l'Amérique du Nord.

10. Charles I, roi d'Angleterre.

11. Le Grand Electeur.

12. Contenu du Cid.

1. Wallenstein.

2. Philip of Macedonia.

3. Cardinal Richelieu.

4. The battle of Fehrbellin.

THEMES IN ENGLISH.

5. Huss and his death at the stake.

6. The invention of the art of printing.

7. The telegraph.

8. Pericles and his age.

9. Rudolph of Hapsburg.

HOME WORK.

The general school regulations provide that at the beginning of each term there shall be a conference of the teachers to determine in detail the due amount of home work for the different classes. Each teacher keeps a book in which all the exercises actually given are accurately noted, so that the director of the school may see at any time how far the decisions of the conference have been regarded. The home work of the pupils must be regularly corrected by the teacher, and the results publicly announced in the class. German and Latin compositions are to receive especial attention.

FINAL EXAMINATION (ABITURIENTENPRÜFUNG).

The students who desire to matriculate at a university must procure the certificate of maturity (Maturitätszeugniss) in the regular final examination, the object being to ascertain whether the candidate has made himself master of the subjects required for successful entrance upon the academic course. The examination must be made in a Gymnasium, and takes place about six weeks before the close of the school year. To be admitted to the examination the pupil must have been two years in the highest grade.

The examining board (Prüfungscommission) consists of the director of the Gymnasium, the teachers of the higher classes, a member of the ecclesiastical authority, and a member of the provincial school board (Provinzial Schul-Collegium), who presides at the examination. Besides these, government commissioners are appointed to be present as inspectors.

The examinations are of two kinds, written and oral. The subjects are religion, history and geography, mathematics, physics, natural history, the German, Latin, Greek, French, English, and Hebrew languages.

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